Note: This is a revised and updated text of an article originally published in Livingmaps Review and posted online in 2021. It is due to appear in a new collection of occasional piece Waypoints Volume 2 : Studies in the Grey Zone, to be published by eyeglass books in the Autumn of 2023. How do you map a monarchy? Depict the location of its palaces and other … [Read more...] about UNEASY LIES THE HEAD : ON LOSING THE ROYAL TOUCH NOW AND THEN
ON LIVING IN A GREY ZONE
This text is an introduction to Waypoints Volume 2 , a new collection of occasional writings from the last five years due to be published in the Autumn by eyeglass books. INTRODUCTION : ON LIVING IN A GREY ZONE Taking sides On the day I am writing this the following happened : I heard that a friend of mine , a life long smoker, had been diagnosed with … [Read more...] about ON LIVING IN A GREY ZONE
On being left behind : the haunting legacies of London 2012
This is the text of a talk I gave to a conference examining the legacy of the London 2012 Olympics ten years on, organised by University College London in September 2022. The talk was accompanied by a Powerpoint. As evening drew on we went to what was left of Tower Bridge to watch ‘The Post-Olympic Dream’, marveling at the flickering figures as they vaulted over … [Read more...] about On being left behind : the haunting legacies of London 2012
A SCENE FROM AN UNMADE FILM
In memory of Mantas Kvedaravicius,documentary film maker, killed in Mariupolis,, aged 43, by Russian Federation forces on April 4 2022. This text appears in Livingmaps Review 12. The Long Room in Putin’s Palace on the Russian Black Sea Coast. The room is furnished in the style of Louis XIV, with ornate gilt framed mirrors on the walls. At … [Read more...] about A SCENE FROM AN UNMADE FILM
IN PRAISE OF IGNORE-ANCE
I recently had the experience, fortunately an unusual one, of being snubbed. Blanked Out. Given the cold shoulder. The bum’s rush. Evocative enough phrases to describe the sensation of being ignored. I had offered to give a talk to an academic department where I had previously given seminars, in a college where I had been a visiting professor for a few years and … [Read more...] about IN PRAISE OF IGNORE-ANCE